Jeremike One Shots
by Rosinide
Summary: A cute, fluffy-haired, green eyed nightwatch and a tough, uncaring, scar-covered day shift. What happens when they fall for each other? This fic is a bunch of one shots between the two, exploring different AU's and timelines! Go ahead and comment if you want any of these to become a full fic!
1. Hired

NOTE~!

Hey! I'm Rosinide, I love Jeremike, and since I hated not being able to find new content I decided to start making my own! This is based off of BAMsarakilledyou's FNAF au, since it's been my favorite since I was a kid and it even inspired me to start writing and drawing :) Anyways! I hope you enjoy the story!

When Jeremy enters Fazbear's Pizzeria, the first thing that hits him is that horrible mixture of grease and old dust in the air. It makes his nose scrunch and his hand hesitates to let go of the glass door as if he'd be unable to turn back if he does, being quick to recover however and take a few steps towards the pizzerias front counter. There, a teenage-looking worker with piercings nearly covering one whole ear and lime green, side shaved hair looks up from his phone with a bored expression, giving the boy a quick once-over before scooting closer to the register on his chair and getting ready to type. "Are you here for a party or need a ticket for one?"

"A-Actually, I...I was w-wondering if I could see your b-boss?" Jeremy speaks up and gives an apologetic smile since he knows this will only worsen the others mood, that worker holding in a sigh before standing up. The chair screeches a bit underneath him almost dramatically and he stuffs his phone in his side pocket as he goes off without another word, disappearing behind an 'employee's only' door where Jeremy can't see him.

So far so good, he guesses. Then again he doesn't have much to compare it to considering this is the first job interview he's gotten. Most places probably threw his resume out as soon as he left the doors considering he can rarely get a sentence out without stuttering up a storm. He needed a job that's NOT face to face with a customer and for a 17 year old in a small(-ish) town? Thats hard. That is...until he found this place.

It's only a few minutes until the worker comes back out with a large man, a cheerful smile on the newcomers face as he makes his way to the counter. The worker stays back by the door and Jeremy notes that he doesn't pull his phone out, even standing straighter as if he knows what he can't do around his boss. Must not be too laid back of a place after all. "Hello there! Jeremy, is it?" The man asks, hooking his thumb in his suspenders and looking down to the smaller boy.

"Y-Yes, I'm Jeremy. You called me in for a job interview…?"

"That I did! Though you're a bit early…" To emphasize his point, the boss glances at a pizza themed clock on the wall nearby, the hands signaling its about 4 pm, 45 minutes before he was supposed to be here. It's not like he could help it, his mom had to get to work and he needed a ride, it was now or never.

"A-Ah, I'm sorry about that...I ju-just didn't want to be late."

"Well you're in luck, boy! We love punctual people here. Off to a great start now, aren't you?" Behind him, Jeremy can see the worker roll his eyes before taking a peak at his phone in his pocket. Jerk.

"I-I guess, I-"

"How about we go back to my office?" The boss asks before walking out of the counter area through a small exit, having to squeeze through just a bit to do so. He pays it no mind however, heading down the open aisle and towards the stage without waiting for Jeremy's answer, "You wanted to work night shift, right?"

"Y-Yes," He's quick to answer, having to walk faster than his usual pace to keep up with the man. He seems like he's rushing in a way, but that's not surprising. Despite the place falling apart, it's still one of the most popular children play places for miles around, the man must just have a lot to do at the moment.

"That's just perfect, Jeremy, just perfect! Are you familiar with our business?"

"I used to come here as a kid a-a lot, it was one of my favorite pl-places to be," He admits and can hear the man says something else, but as they get closer to the stage it's getting harder to hear him. The stage area is clear of children and with the buzzing noise in the air, Jeremy can figure out why. Up on the stage, the animatronics are unmoving as if they froze in the middle of a performance, a worker by the chicken themed one with a toolbox in hand as he works away in a small open side panel to show its inside parts. But...that's not the animatronics Jeremy remembers. They must have been replaced. These ones don't look as furry as he recalls, being much more shiny and mechanical. In fact, they even look as if they're made of cheap molded plastic, bolted together to hide their whirring mechanical pieces underneath. They certainly don't look as loving as the past ones.

"Ah yes," Jeremy jumps and freezes where he's standing when a large hand clasps his shoulder, the boy being quick to realize it's just the boss. He's stopped by the stage, looking up at the robots himself with a frown, "Chica broke down today, her voice box is going crazy. Her beaks been fallin off when she moves, scares the kids half to death! Shouldn't be a problem though! Our workers will get 'er fixed up right away." His smile comes back, more cheerful than ever as he lets Jeremy go and walks to the side of the stage, the boy now seeing there's another employee's door that the boss opens to let them in. He steps to the side so Jeremy can slip past him first, the boy doing so and taking a quick glance around the room to see where he is. Its a square sized room with a table right in the middle full of parts, boxes to the side labeled as various spare pieces and what looks to be a pile of lost and found items. Directly on the left wall is an exit covered with the stage curtains which must be how you're supposed to get up there, Jeremy realizing he's getting a headache from the loud buzz coming from it that Chicas emitting, still able to hear it even from here.

This must be the storage area. The other man doesn't stay here for long as he closes the door behind them and heads straight to another door, heading in first himself with Jeremy right behind. This room seems to be a nice little office, the boss already sitting himself at the desk and digging around in the drawers. Theres paper scattered here and there that Jeremy has to be careful to not step on, sitting himself across from the man and patiently waiting for him to speak. After just a few seconds, he pulls out a paper and places it down in front of the boy, next taking a pen out of his suit pocket for Jeremy to use, "Sign here please!"

Jeremy takes that pen with a quizzical frown and looks down to the paper, scooting his chair closer to read. Damn himself for forgetting his reading glasses at home. "What for?"

"I didn't say?" Now it's the bosses turn to be confused, but it looks more like an act then anything as he goes back to grinning right after, "You got the job!"

"Wh-" This makes him look up from the paper and that confused look turns to one of surprise and shock, wondering if he just heard what he thinks he did. After all, theres still some of that annoying buzzing in his ears. There's no way, there was no job interview, no background check, nothing! "Are y-you kidding?"

"Of course not! Even better, you can start tonight," The man gives a small wink before motioning to the paper, the font so tiny that jeremy has to squint to try and make it out, but even then it's too blurry to read. "Don't worry too much about the details, it just stating that you accept to follow the employee handbook and will do everything in your power to make this a great workplace. All you have to do is sign here!" With that, the man's hand goes over the paper to point out where he needs to sign, effectively covering the text to make sure Jeremy can't read it all. He doesn't need to worry about it.

Theres slight hesitation before Jeremy takes the cap off the pen and leans forward, signing his name in cursive on the line before the boss takes it and rolls it up. "That's just perfect, Jeremy, just perfect. Can you start tonight?"

"I-I can…-"

"Excellent! Be here by 10 pm. Your shift will be midnight to 6 am, but we can go over more details when you get here." The boss stands up and tucks the paper into his side pocket, the top half sticking out since it hadn't been folded enough. Jeremy stands with him and he gives the boss a handshake to confirm their deal, nervousness written all over the younger ones face as he tries to figure out what in the hell just happened.

It's not until he walking out the front door of the pizza place does the realization finally hit him, a dumb grin appearing on his face as he walks to the bus stop down the road, a small skip to his step at the fact that he just got a job!

Meanwhile, a man watches the door close behind the boy with icy blue eyes, a firm frown on his face and his arms crossed in front of his chest. He's leaning against the wall where he usually watches over the play area to make sure no kids get hurt, but at the moment...his gaze is quite distracted. He had seen his boss strut out of the repair room with a grin on his own face meaning his meeting with the potential employee went quite well...which also means there may just be another employee for this _lovely _establishment_._

His tight frown furthers at such a fake statement. That's just what they need, another night guard name tag to add to the locker and another family to break the news to.

That kid's not gonna last one damn night.

NOTE~!

Hey guys, thank you for reading! If you want to see more, please comment or like, and if you have any criticism please tell me! I need it to make my writing better :)


	2. Working (2?)

NOTE!

I just wanted to take a second and thank my friend, _PokemonMasta14_ on Wattpad for making me an amazing cover (only visible on some sites) and helping me have the motivation on what to write! They're amazing!

"What brings you here?" A sudden voice makes Jeremy freeze as he walks into the security office, letting out a soft surprise gasp when he sees someone sitting at the office desk and fumbling to catch the tablet he was carrying from the locker room. He can't exactly afford to drop and break it after all, they'll take it from his paycheck for sure. The strangers feet are propped up on the desktop carelessly and in their hand is a half unwrapped Wendy's burger, the man having been muffled when he talked considering he had a bite of the food in his mouth when he did so.

"Wh-Who are you!?" He asks, green eyes filled with confusion meeting icy blue that couldn't care less. With an annoyed huff of breath, the man takes his feet off the table and sits up despite the chairs creak of protest, wrapping the burger up before setting it on the desk and pointing to the old name tag pinned to his shirt.

"I'm Mike. I'm your coworker, just here to show you the ropes before you get chucked into this hell." That sounds like quite the over exaggeration to the boy, who now calms himself down and takes a good hard look at the 'coworker' sitting before him. He does recall seeing somebody like him over by the ball pits, having taken a quick note of how tense he holds himself and how he was glancing over to him from time to time as if trying to figure out who he was.

"Th-The boss didn't say there was going to be a-anybody here…" Jeremy mumbles as he walks over, eyeing the metal folding chair Mike brought out for him, but not sitting just yet. However, Mike raises an eyebrow and at the fear of being judged by a coworker he quickly sits himself down, sitting on the edge furthest from the man however to keep as much distance as possible between the two of them.

"I'm guessing the boss didn't show you how to operate this shit?" Mike says as he leans over and plucks the tablet the boy was carrying out of his hands, turning it in his palms before switching on the on button situated along the top. He doesn't seem too keen on wasting time, Jeremy figures, might as well get this over with.

"N-No, he said there would be an-an operators manual in the desk drawers," At that mention, Jeremy looks down at the drawer in front of his knees and scoots his chair back to be able to open it, frowning however when the inside of it is empty. In fact, there's even mold of some sort forming along the wood, making Jeremy shudder and quickly shut it again. That's not an operators manual.

"Yeah, he says a lot of things," Mike mutters and flicks through a few of the cameras, keeping an eye on the clock so he doesn't get stuck here all night helping the kid. He switched shifts for a reason, "Just watch, kid."

"I'm n-not a kid-"

"Well you look like one. You gonna pay attention or not?" His rudeness makes Jeremy go a little red in the cheeks, but since he doesn't know what position Mike has here he can't exactly argue without fear of being fired. So with a slight huff he leans over just enough to see the screen, watching as Mike shows and explains where each room is to the security office. "-And this is the prize room. Pay attention to this one and keep the music box wound up."

"...why? What's t-the point?"

"Just keep it wound up. These are the animatronics, you'll want to keep an eye on each one and know where they are in the-"

"What's t-that one?" The boy interrupts him when he switches to one of the side rooms, labeled Kids Cove, leaning closer to point out what looks to be a mess of parts in the dark area of the room. Mike grumbles a bit from suddenly being cut off, not even having to take a closer look to know full well what Jeremys talking about.

"Mangle. Toy Foxy. Whatever the fuck you want to call that thing, you just need to keep it away from you."

"What do you me-mean?"

"I mean its gonna bite your fucking limbs off, Jeremy." At that statement, the new worker goes a bit silent and just stares at the tablet screen, soon however...laughing softly, "Is this a joke to you?"

"I-I mean…I'm sorry, but you keep saying we-weird stuff, sir, I just...the b-boss already told me they'll wander around, that t-th-they might come here looking for pe-people, but…"

"Yeah, I know what he told you, so I'm telling you the truth. If those animatronic-fuckers find you, they will drag you to the spare parts room," At this, Mike switches over to that room on the cameras, pointing out one of the spare suits lying around to hopefully drill this into Jeremy's head, "And stuff you into one of these. You know what's in these things? Metal. Metal that will rip you apart and make you bleed out before 6 am. And even if it does reach morning? Ohoh There's no way they'll be taking you to the hospital. They'll leave you here to bleed out to death, lie to your family, and dispose of your body where nobodies ever gonna find it. Do you get it now, Jeremy?"

"W-Wha-"

"These things are out for blood. You need to keep them out of this room unless you have a goddamn death wish, kid." The thought of arguing with being called kid doesn't even come to Jeremy's mind. In fact, nothing does. This all seems too fake to be real, but that look on Mike's face...something in Jeremy's gut is telling him this man isn't out to scare him.

"You...How d-do you know so much…?"

"Because I used to be the night shift here, only stuck with it till we could get a replacement. I should have just kept it," The man grumbles once again and shuts the tablet off, tossing it onto the desk without a care. The thud makes Jeremy flinch and he inches away to feel safer, glancing between the tablet and then back at the man. "You're going to be here alone, do you understand that?"

"Th-This doesn't feel r-re-real…"

"Doesn't matter. It is. Now kid, you better-" Mike doesn't even get to finish his sentence. The loud ringing of high-pitched bells throughout the building cuts him off the second midnight hits, a rock feeling as if its fallen in Mikes stomach as he quickly checks the watch on his wrist. He lost track of time and now… "God fucking damn it!" He's stuck here at night once again.

"M-Mike-?" Mike doesn't even register the fact that Jeremy's trying to talk to him as he reaches forward and grabs the tablet, once again switching it on and checking all the cameras. When he doesn't see Jeremy move, he glances over to him with a chilling glare, nodding his head towards the flashlight so he gets an idea of what to do.

"The lights. Down the hallway and check the vents, keep an ear out."

"O...Okay…" Jeremy hesitantly reaches out and grabs the flashlight before he checks the hallway, next shining it over to the sides of the room to check the vents. Thankfully, nothing seems to be there just yet, but of course that could change any moment.

"It's a Monday, they should be quiet today," Mike mumbles as if talking to himself before switching to the prize corner, winding up the music box and then once again checking the stage. Already, two of the animatronics, Toy Chica and Toy Bonnie, have disappeared, leaving Toy Freddy the only one waiting to move. None of the older animatronics, that Mike turns the screen to introduce a slightly horrified Jeremy to, seem to have moved just yet much to Mikes relief.

"W-Why do they keep those things?" Jeremy asks as he narrows his eyes at the screen, recognizing the ripped up versions of his childhood memories. THOSE are the fluffy performers he remembers, but now? Bonnies face has been all but ripped off, It looks as if Chica's jaw has been stuck two settings too high, now showing off multiple pairs of teeth, and Freddy is definitely just as worn out with his inside parts being visible where his joints are.

"Some kind of recycling thing, they're goddamn cheapskates here."

"Y-You swear a lot…"

"Is now really the time?"

"...N-no…"

"That's what I thought. Lights," Mike orders before once again giving the cameras his full attention, Jeremy once again shining the light down the hallway only to freeze this time around.

"M-Mike…" The boy's voice is almost a whisper yet it still causes the man to glance over at him, following his gaze until he sees that damned fox animatronic positioned at the end of the hallway. Mike sighs and takes the flashlight from Jeremy's grip, flickering it a few times at the thing before turning it off and handing it back.

"That's Foxy...or god, what used to be him. Just shine the light at him a few times and he'll fuck right off to wherever he came from," Mike explains and its obvious he doesn't want to get too into talking about this one, the annoyance in his tone only growing from the fact his head stitches are now burning. Great. Without even thinking, he brings a free hand up to scratch at them under his hat as he goes back to camera duty, making Jeremy cringe just slightly from the sound. Thankfully, the mans far too focused to even notice the action that Jeremy feels immediately guilty for. He does try to glance over to see just what's making the noise since it's not what scratching skin sounds like, but Mike removes his hand and the hat falls back into place before the boy can get a good look. It's probably for the best. To occupy himself once again, he shines the light down the hall and goes to check the vents, hearing what seems to be something shuffling on through.

This captures Mikes attention, he looks up from the cameras and narrows his eyes at the left vent, Jeremy following in suit and shining the light in to see what's going on. There, from the large entrance, is a strange circle shaped head with an eerie smile, eyes wide and mouth unmoving as laughter emits from somewhere in its body. While Jeremy lets out a small shirek and drops the flashlight, Mike jumps up from his seat and runs to that vent, suddenly swinging his foot back and bringing it hard against the robots face. The impact makes it slide back further into the vent and its laughter gets caught short, Jeremy's eyes going wide as he realizes what Mike just did. "Did...Did you just K-KICK it?"

Instead of answering at first, Mike just groans and kneels over to hold his hurting foot. Turns out kicking metal isn't the best path to go, but it certainly got the child-like animatronic out of there. He can hear him shuffling back further down the vent to go disappear to a different room. "That's FUCKBOY!" Mike yells the name into the vent to be sure Balloon Boy can hear him before standing, using the wall as support as he rotates his hurt foots ankle. "He's a complete ass. Don't let him get in here, put the mask on as soon as you see him, or else he'll steal your fucking flashlight."

"S-steal my...flashlight? I th-thought they'd stuff me?"

"That ones different, he's just a little asshole," Mike mumbles as he sits himself down in the chair, propping his feet up on the desk and turning his head to look at Jeremy. The boy doesn't respond and just gives a thoughtful 'hm' with a closed mouth before looking away from mikes intimidating gaze, shining it around once again to get back to work. No doubt Balloon Boys gonna whine to his friends.

While Jeremy may have looked away, Mike certainly hasn't. For just a few seconds, he lets himself fully examine the boy, looking at him as a person instead of a new worker that would be gone the next morning. His hair has ridiculous volume, going this way and that, and is colored a chestnut brown. Mikes eyes slowly trail down to his face where he takes note of the boys eyes, a perfect compliment to his hair since they're a dark emerald green. He looks like the pure embodiment of innocence, his eyes giving away all his emotions...which currently seems to be curiosity with the way he glances over at Mike and makes eye contact. He could feel the man watching him, could even see him from the corner of his eye, and can't help but feel a little creeped. "...C-Cameras? Please?"

With a quickly mumbled apology and slightly pink tinted cheeks, Mike turns back to the tablet, scolding himself in his mind for staring for so long. Why does he even care? Jeremy still has to survive the night shift alone, he...probably won't even make it past Friday.

Why does such a thought cause an ache in Mikes heart?


	3. Hold On!

Hey guys! So this isn't an update, but it's nothing bad.

I just wanted to let you guys know that my update this time is a little late because I'm moving! I should be settled in about two days and after that I'll make an announcement and we'll be back to out posting schedule!

I have so many different AU's and ideas planned out to share, this next chapters half way written and it much longer then the two chapters so far, so please stay tuned!

In the meantime, totally give me any ideas, AU's, etc. that you want to see written out and I'll write them all as a 'Im sorry for pausing my updates' thing! Just comment it down below.

So see you guys in three days!


	4. Ocean

NOTE

Hey guys! So surprise! Moving only took a day, so here's a chapter earlier then I anticipated! We're back to posting every 2-3 days!

It's the loneliness of this job that Mike enjoys the most. Of course, that wouldn't be the best part of the job for most people, but it's something that Mike actually finds he looks forward to as he drags his boat into the water, his rubber overalls keeping the early morning water from chilling him to the bone.

Its calm on the waters as he climbs in, taking a second to just sit at the edge of the dock with his feet in his boat, slowly breathing in the salty air of the ocean and feeling the light mist against his skin. It's a great thing he packed his sweater today, storing it in a small bin attached to the inside of the boat to hopefully keep it dry. It's already cold out today.

It only takes a few hard tugs to get the old motor rumbling again and with that, Mike climbs in and guides it away from the wooden docks, taking a slow left turn to go along the coast and towards where the land builds up into a cliff. On top of this cliff is a large lighthouse that shines around in the fog, directing arriving ships and letting them know just how close they're getting to the beaches. It's a great thing to have of course, Mike always enjoys watching it from his bedroom window as he tries to fall asleep...until you realize what other noises it brings with it. Rowdy sailors coming past with their ships, blaring the horns since they don't realize somebody lives this far out. The loud noises giving him horrible migraines that he tries to fish away in the morning. Of course, with the help of a few pills if he can spare them, but with this budget? It's a rare treat.

Though Mike has to admit that while the horns suck, he much prefers it over nosy neighbors further away in the town. People who try to befriend him because he's the 'local freak', trying to use it to make them feel better about themselves while they have no interest in Mike himself. He doesn't want them around, he doesn't want to have to act nice to them just to spare their feelings, he'd rather them all fuck off. He doesn't need them. So now all the talking he does to them is when he goes to sell some fish. Even with just the minimal contact, he still finds at least one person gawking at his head scars, reminding him why he hates coming to the market so much.

He pushes through it, making himself get out of bed, pack up frozen fish, and head to the market every Friday to make his living. It helps that he practically has a monopoly on this town. They rely on local sellers to get their food because they're such a small town, no other cities close enough to travel to and easily get fish from. So they have to come to Mike, no matter how much most of them hate him. It's a plus for him considering its given him a stable job here, meaning that while he doesn't have much spending money he does certainly have a roof over his head.

The thought makes a smirk appeared on the man's face as he directs the boat away from the rocky cliff, heading out into the deeper water where he can be the most at peace. No matter how much they hate it, the townspeople still gotta give him money.

While Mikes so preoccupied with his thoughts, he can't recognize the feeling of being watched deep in his gut. From under the algae covered dock, two green eyes curiously peek out and watch as he boats away, hands on one of the docks pillars to keep them above the water's surface. Soon, they sink under the water and disappear from view, the ocean waters far too fark here to see where he's gone.

When Mike finally slows his boat to a stop, he cuts the engine and lets it float a bit away, giving the fish a chance to come back in case any were scared by the noises. As he waits, he sits so he's leaning against one side of the boat with his feet propped up on the other, hands behind his head to give him cushioning to feel comfy. His gaze travels through the sky until he turns his head to stare at the cliff, chewing the inside of his cheek in thought. A long time ago, when he first moved in, a few townsfolk tried to warn him about the cliff. They say a boy, about the age of 19, fell off for reasons still unknown to this day. As Mike scans the top of the cliff's edge, he doesn't find that hard to believe. It looks stable enough, nothings crumbly, so if somebody fell they'd have to either be extremly dumb or it would ahve had to have been intentional. Mike's leaning towards the latter considering how unbearable the town can be at some times. The boy's body was never found, it never washed up, having probably sunk to the bottom of the ocean to turn into a forgotten skeleton. Even now, the most popular rumor was he was led off with a siren song, something Mike refuses to believe. He's lived out here for 5 years and never once has he hear anything that resembles singing, not even during the windiest nights. All he gets is the sounds of the ocean waves gently lapping at the sand and the occasional annoying seagull.

To sum it all up, people think this place is cursed. They warned Mike against moving out here, but he saw it as an opportunity. Nobody dares come out here because of the rumors besides idiot teenagers looking for a scare. Of course, Mike's there to provide. He can't help but chuckle at the memories as he sits up and grabs his fishing pole, pulling the hook into his lap and using his other hand to dig around in his bag for the worm bin. People are dumb.

Deep under the boat, in the oceans murky water, those green eyes from before watch in silence, seeing as the boat shifts to signal the mans shifting around and soon seeing him cast a line out into the water that sinks with the help of a bullet sinker. He can't help himself as he swims over and eyes it curiously, slowly circling it before he returns to the safety of under the boat. Its best not to touch something he doesn't know enough about.

Up above, all Mike does is sit back once again with the pole in his hand, content with how he's set everything up for the next few hours. Now, he just has to wait for the fish to come in.

When the sun starts dripping down onto the horizon, Mike takes this as his signal to leave. While this is a great moment because it means he can get away from the fish he's caught, this time around Mike finds himself grumbling and double checking his fish bin.

Nothing. There's nothing to show for the hours he spent out on this damn water, not a single bite to reel in and sell off. This has never happened to him before, he usually catches at least one, but this time there wasn't even a damn nibble. The man can only assume its because this is a new fishing spot, this must be the most unlucky fucking place in the world. That's what he gets for messing with his own daily schedule. He curses under his breath as he reels in the last fishing pole nearly throwing it aside before tugging on the motor cord to get going. He needs a bath.

However, the motor sputters. With a few desperate grumbles, it goes silent and Mikes left tugging the cord a few more times, trying to get it up and running but its all for nothing. His boat has finally given out on him. With this new fact in mind, the man punches the air out of frustration and a string of curses escape, being quick to calm down however when the boat rocks threateningly. Now's not the time to let his anger escape, he doesn't need to be soaked on top of everything else. Mike sits himself back down in the boat with a weary sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose, soon reaching down and picking up the emergency paddle off the ground. He's getting home one way or another.

He shoves the paddle into the water with a little too much force and it's a miracle the boat hasn't thrown him out yet, pushing it back to propel himself in the water. While he's never had to do this before...he's certain it's not supposed to push him _that _far forward. The boat goes a good few feet from just one push with the paddle and Mike looks around in bewilderment, soon shrugging it off. He must have put on a bit more muscle then he thought since he moved out here, but it's not like hes gonna complain. As long as it gets him home faster.

What he can't see is down below the water, two small hands push against the boat from below and help it move towards the shore, its owner not wanting Mike to be stranded and exhausted after such a long day. It's the least he can do...right? Thankfully, it doesn't seem like Mike suspects a thing as he paddles through the water and as soon as the creature can see the dock polls up ahead it lets go, sinking back to the depths it came from. It's at this point that the blue eyed man realizes the paddlings gotten much harder and huffs as he puts more effort into it, thinking he must have just gotten tired from paddling so much.

He doesn't stop till his boat hits and rocks against the dock with a few soft thuds and tosses the paddle down, grabbing the rope next and tying his boat up from safe keeping. It may be broken, but he doesn't want to have to buy a whole new boat. He'd be broke for sure. Mike tests the knot before he pulls his gear over his shoulder and climbs out, walking up the dirt path that starts after the dock's wood and following it up to a small wooden shed. It takes a bit of digging in his pockets before he finds keys and gets it open, tossing his stuff in without a care before locking the door behind it. He's too frustrated for this shit.

Finally, he makes his way up to the house so he can collapse on his couch, ready for this day to be over so he can watch some tv. There's only so much he can handle. As he reaches the door and goes to unlock it, the feeling of eyes on him creeps up his spine and he freezes. His eyes narrow at the wood in front of him before he whips around, wildly scanning over the field and beach in front of him.

There's nothing there. He groans and suddenly the feeling of a migraine pulses in his head, making him bring a hand up to his forehead and stop caring about the fact that he feels like he's being watched. He tugs his keys back out before shoving them in the lock, clicking it open and heading inside.

If he had stopped to look for just a few more seconds he would have seen the emerald eyes watching him from the waves, disappointed and worried.

It's a pain when Mike wakes up the next morning. His head is pounding behind his eyelids and a groan involuntarily escapes his mouth, the fisherman groggily sitting up on the couch with a hand pressed to his head. He thought he would wake up after an hour or so when he fell asleep on the couch, but the horrible aches in his body tell him he's been asleep for the whole night at least. Great. No fish and a sore back, that's just what he wanted.

He gets himself off the couch and stretches to get the kinks out of his arms and legs, heading to the bathroom only to freeze on the way. It'd probably be best he goes outside and does his dirty work before showering, so he doesn't have to do it again. He can't help but grumble at that logical part of his brain as he grabs his coat off the rack, slipping it on and stepping outside into the cool misty air. Another chilling day. After the door slams shut, he heads over to the shed and pulls out his keys, the sound of...slapping stopping him. He freezes for a moment, just to be sure he's hearing what he thinks he's hearing before turning his head to look at the nearby docks, his eyes falling on the source of the noise: his boat.

There, all scattered on the floor, is multiple fish of all kinds. Some are still flopping while others have gone still, all still shiny and fresh as if they had been put in there minutes before. At first, Mike thinks he's going insane. He rubs his eyes before looking again, almost comically, afterwards forgetting all about his gear and going over. There's no way this is real, is he dreaming? God, this can't be a dream, it's too real. Just to prove his theory, he kneels down and leans closer, poking at the fish and nearly falling over when the thing flops around. Yeah, it's slimy. It's real.

This is way too weird. He can't do this, so he gets to his feet, turning on his heel, and makes his way back up the dirt path to his house. The door opens with ease considering he never locked it and he's quick to slam it right behind him, about to head over to the bathroom for his long awaited shower only to hesitate and look out the window. There's no way the culprits will come back, will they? They have to be long gone by now, at least that's what Mike's pranking experiences have been like. Probably just a couple of bored kids looking to fuck around with the grump on the cliff.

However, while staring out the window and trying to find something to blame in the fields, his eyes trail up to the ocean. There, something pokes out of the water and moves to the boat, two human arms coming out and grabbing the sides. It heaves itself out and Mike glares, realizing the kid must have been hiding under the dock until he left, probably having laughed at his reaction. But..when the kid looks from the boat and back up to the house, Mike comes to a different realization. They look almost disappointed, no hint of a smile on their face as far as mike can tell. In the next second, the thing disappears back under the water and leaves Mike wondering what the hell just happened, scanning the beach for the kid to come back up. He has to breath, right?

He refuses to admit he saw the flip of a green tail as the stranger went back into the waves.

Maybe he just needs a really really cold shower.

Coming back from the market the next morning, Mike can feel the wads of cash in his pockets weighing him down and making the trek from the driveway to his house much harder then usual. After taking his shower and getting in a much better mood, he had walked out and just stared at the fish, debating dumping them all in the water, but knowing how much loss that would be. Considering he hadn't gotten any fish himself that day…he had decided today could be his lucky day and gathered the fish, shoving them in the freezer till he could go to the market the next morning. And ohh god, was that the most business he's seen in months! He hasn't had this much money since he first started here and people were desperate for something new.

But he doesn't like to about how he got that fish. When people asked, he would grumble out, "nets," and they would drop the topic. Thankfully, going to the markets with so much stock to sell took up most of his day, so he dumps the cash on the kitchen counter to count up tomorrow and makes his way to his bedroom, stripping as he goes till hes just in his boxers and t-shirt. He can worry about cleaning tomorrow, but then again he tells himself that everyday.

He doesn't even bother to brush his teeth as he gets in bed, laying on top of the blankets and taking the time to calm himself down from recent events. Blue eyes stare up at the ceiling, deep in thought, and ears listen to the crickets outside his bedroom window, another noise soon making him tense up however.

He never believed those siren stories. Until tonight.

His ears manage to pick up on the sound of soft singing coming from what Mike assumes is the beach and he notes how its so quiet it's like the culprit doesn't want to be heard. Its gentle and slow, nearly mesmerizing, but not what Mike would have thought a siren would be like. There's no mind control, no urge to throw himself in the ocean...but he does certainly want to see who the hell's disturbing his sleep.

As quietly as he can manage, he slides off his bed and ignores the feeling of the cold wooden floor on his bare feet, sneaking his way to the nearby open window. He kneels down by its side and leans to just barely peek out, narrowing his eyes to try and make out what it could be in the dark. There, sitting on the beach, is what looks to be a young man. Even though he's so far away, Mike can see he has a full head of surprisingly dry brown hair and his figure is petite, leading him to believe they might be a woman until he gets a better look by brushing the windows curtains aside. It looks like half his tail is resting in the water, the waves lapping against his stomach, and Mike's mind tries to tell him this is all purely coincidental. He just had somebody who decided to intrude on his beach, and they're going to learn a lesson because of it. He's not a dumbass after all.

With another one of his famous glares, he gets up from where he's hiding and rushes to the front door, grabbing his sweater off the floor on the way since he has no idea how long this will take. He doesn't even bother with shoes however as he throws the door open and runs out, yelling at the intruder who whips around to look at him with wide eyes. Wide green emerald eyes that Mike can make out in the dark, but he can't let that get to him right now.

The stranger looks frozen in the water, trying to decide what to do, and it only takes a quick glance for mike to almost become the same way. There, half submerged in the water, is a green mermaid tail. The fin at the end is floating along the gentle waves coming in and its wide range of green colored scales nearly reflect and shine under the moonlight, Mike feeling mesmerized for a few mere moments and going silent.

It's the mermaid trying to make a break for it back into the water that makes Mike bolt back into action, lunging forward and grabbing it by the arm with a tight grip before managing to drag them through the sand and further up the shore. All the while, that soft gentle voice has risen to a desperate near screech as the creature tries to get away, begging and pleading as they assume the worst, "Please-Let me go, let me go! Stop!" In all honesty, Mike feels a little bad.

He's not exactly sure what to do as he finally releases the mermaid, standing straight and watching as they try to scoot further up the shore just to have distance between them. The man notices the red mark now on the poor things arm and the guilt shows on his face, watching the mermaid tries to slow his breathing as he scans Mike over. While he does that, Mike's own eyes trail back to the tail and take it all in, inhaling heavily through his nose. That's a mermaid. A real one.

Once again, he's not going to let this get to him. He can't lose his mind now. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Wh-Wha-"

"This is my beach. You're on my beach. Now what are you doing here?"

"Y-Your beach…?"

"That's what I said." For a second, Mike watches as the mermaids flushed face turns from one of confusion to them huffing their cheeks out and glaring

.

"I lived h-here before you even st-started visiting!"

Despite the shock of this being a mermaid, Mike certainly didn't stop himself from arguing with them for a while after such a statement. While they were fighting back and forth, he took note that the mermaid seems to be enjoying himself, coming up with jabs and comebacks to the man's annoying arguments. It's distracting enough that soon Mike sits himself down next to the mermaid and their arguing turns into smaller bickering, laughter soon joining the mix and making the new stranger smile. Mike's not sure why he noticed that so much. Though, eventually things go silent between them and an awkwardness from being strangers grows, Mike soon clearing his throat and looking up to the starry sky. "...So...the fish. Was that you? Were you in the water?"

When he asks this, he turns his head to look at the other who's quick to look away so they don't get caught staring, their cheeks becoming blushy as they fidget with their hands. "I...y-yes...I noticed you had some troubles today, I'm sorry...I wa-was under the boat, I must have scared them off."

"They're scared of you?"

"I eat them," The younger one replies plainly before going back to explaining, "I just thought I s-should bring you some fish." Some? "Just to say I-I'm sorry. I wish I had introduced myself earlier, but...I w-was nervous."

This fact makes Mike chuckle a bit. Mermaids have anxiety too? "So what you're saying is my string of bad luck and brokeness is on you?" He jokes, a smile at the corners of his mouth to prove it.

"Oh yeah, I-I'm sure you're still pretty broke after bringing home so much money," Jeremy jokes right back, a smile at his own lips as he looks to the man, "I saw that sm-smug grin you had." Once again, the two laugh. Mike's a bit loud and rough, Jeremy's soft and gentle. Afterwards, things fall silent once again and Mike feels the urge to speak what's on his mind, chewing his bottom lip for a few seconds in thought before speaking once again.

"Are you real?"

"I-I sure hope so," jeremy replies in nearly a whisper and it's obvious he's not sure himself, a hint of sadness in his tone. So, Mike leans over on his elbow in the sand and pokes Jeremys cheek with his hand, grinning all the while. Jeremy swats his hand away and that lovely laugh escapes him, making Mike join him.

"You sure feel real to me," He admits as his slight laughter dies down, not moving away from the other however. He stays there on his elbow, staring at the boy curiously as his smile relaxes. The mermaid doesn't move himself away, instead staring right back into the man's intense gaze and feeling a small spike of anxiety. He hasn't been this close to a human in ages. As he examines Mike, his eyes start to trail up and go over the scars decorating his head, making the skull dip down slightly in a few places. When Mike notices where Jeremys looking, he suddenly feels nervous and sits right back where he was before, looking away to instead stare at his own feet in the sand. "Heh, I uh ...yeah. S-Sorry. I promise not all humans are as ugly as this."

"I d-don't think it's ugly…" At this, blue eyes glance back into green and there's a chuckle, Mike soon looking back up at the sky.

"Then you would be a first," If Mike was still looking, he would have been able to see the distress on the boys face from such a statement, "What's your name?"

"Jeremy."

"Cool. I'm Mike. Are you that siren everybody's always warning me about?"

"N-No…I uh...I actually died here. I think."

"Died?"

"I fell off the cliff, I got too comfy with it and I g-guess just forgot the dangers...I loved the ocean. When I fell, s-something happened, and I woke up li-like this. Alone," At Mikes raised eyebrow, Jeremy can't help but feel embarrassed, "I-It's cheesy, I know."

"You loved the ocean, huh. I mean, there's one thing we have in common, yeah?"

"I g-guess...It's the blue I like. It's always s-so full of life, it's kind of ironic that it caused my death you know?"

"Damn dude. Deep."

"A-Ah shut it," Jeremy huffs once again and crosses his arms, his cheeks heating up from being teased. However, he soon to relaxes, glancing back at Mike before he comments, "You know, y-your eyes look like the ocean."

Mike has never felt his cheeks heat up so fast before, struggling to get words out and just letting out a mere, "Thanks." How could one boy get him so damn flustered?

"Y-You know, they must have come up with me being a siren after the...event. I s-stuck around here, they couldn't find my bo-body, and I was too scared to tell them so I'd swim away. I can't blame them for blaming sirens."

"How long have you been here? They tell those tales like they're old."

"Ju-Just ten years."

"Are you sad?"

"Sometimes...but you're not the only one who knows about me. My m-mom lives on a bay a ways away, I go over there sometimes to visit, but I li-like it here better." This makes Mike silently nod. He makes a note to visit the boys mom later that week if he has time. It'd be nice to talk to somebody else, make sure he's not totally insane.

After a few seconds of silence, Mike finds himself laying back and Jeremy looks over before following in suit, the sand shaping around their bodies to help them lay comfortably. Together, they stare up at the stars together and Mike picks up on the fact that the merboys back to softly humming, lulling him slowly into a much better sleep then he's gotten in months.

When Mike wakes up in the morning, the first thing he notes is the fact that he's alone. The next is the chilling water covering his ankles, soaking his bones to the core. He's quick to scramble away to pull his knees to his chest and glares at the water as if its a fault, soon afterwards looking around for any sign of the mermaid. Was it a dream…?

Something inside him's telling him no. With a pained groan he gets his tired and sore body up off the ground and heads up to his house to get some proper rest despite the sunlight, deciding it's best to give himself a break from fishing today. On his way to the bedroom, he glances into the bathroom and a content grin appears on his face, the man then proceeding on his way to pass out on his blankets.

Yeah. That tub could fit a mermaid.


End file.
